Patagonia Connects Customers with Grassroots Activists

Today, Patagonia announced its newest environmental initiative, dubbed “Patagonia Action Works.” Patagonia founder, Yvon Chouinard, describes the inception of the program in this video below:

Even if Chouinard rather tongue-in-cheekily describes Action Works as a “Dating Site” for grassroot activists, Action Works looks like a pretty unique and potentially useful program that can connect consumers and activists through the Patagonia site, allowing people to volunteer / donate to local activist groups, or sign up a group of their own.

While Patagonia has been donating its own time and money (nearly $90 million to date) to grassroots groups since its creation, the Action Works program seems like the obvious next step in their environmental initiative, since it connects Patagonia customers to the brand’s extensive network of environmental groups.

A quick scroll through the site reveals info about activist groups located near you, and you can filter them by the particular issues they are working on.

We’re very interested to see how this Action Works program is received, and more importantly, how effective it proves to be.

You can read the full press release from Patagonia below:

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VENTURA, Calif. (February 6, 2018) – On February 7, 2018, Patagonia will launch a new digital platform connecting customers with local grassroots organizations working to save the planet. The goal of this new platform, called Patagonia Action Works, is to help Patagonia customers learn more about local environmental issues and how to get involved with events, petitions, fundraising and volunteering time and skills.

A video featuring Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard was created to support the launch of the platform and underscores Chouinard’s position that in this time of unprecedented threats to our planet, it has never been more important to take action. In the video Chouinard says, “If you’ve been paying attention, you’ll know that things aren’t going very well for the planet. It’s pretty easy to get depressed about it. I’ve always known that the cure for depression is action.”

This is the next chapter in the company’s 40-year history of activism and its giving program, 1% for the Planet. Patagonia’s support of grassroots environmental organizations around the world has totaled nearly $90 million and has reached thousands of community-based groups creating positive change for the planet. Many of the nonprofits operate with limited resources, and through this new platform, Patagonia aims to make these groups more effective and powerful than ever before.

“The biggest question I get from our community and customers is, ‘What can I do to save the planet?’” said Patagonia President and CEO Rose Marcario. “This platform makes it easy to connect with organizations in your neighborhood who are working every day on local issues. We have decades of experience with these groups, and our collective grassroots actions can add up to the change we need to make a better world. With the threats we face, we need everyone in this fight.”

Specifically, Patagonia Action Works allows people to find environmental nonprofits based on issue and location. It also provides links for grassroots organizations who are new to Patagonia to apply for funding.

“If we could connect our community, friends and customers directly with local groups working on issues they are passionate about, suddenly these organizations would have the capacity to achieve even more,” said Lisa Pike Sheehy, vice president of environmental activism at Patagonia. “Everybody has a role to play in this movement.”

Patagonia Action Works will launch with a national tour that unites community members with environmental organizations, laying the foundation for long-term community building and action. The tour will go the following cities: Santa Monica (2/9); Burlington, VT (2/16 and 2/17); Portland, OR (2/22); Washington, D.C. (3/6); Austin (3/13); New York City (TBD); Chicago (TBD) and Reno (4/5).